Unfortunately, I was not able to download the complete video file due to computer issues. Plus I recently when on vacation for several days. However, I was able to partially download the first few minutes and I will be offering my review of what I was able to watch.

I am not completely familiar with the Beatles live performance. I've heard the stories of how the audience was so loud that they couldn't hear themselves play, and the reason they ultimately stopped touring was because the audience was really listening to their playing. I have seen clips of the Ed Sullivan appearance and I can't imagine how overwhelming the crowds were.

What I like about the video is the fact that it is part concert and part documentary. Even in the foreign land of Japan, the audience behaves very much like English speaking audiences. I really liked how the footage captures that moment in time when the Beatles arrived in Japan. Subtitles would have been nice to understand the Japanese narration.

Qualitity wise, everything is very good. The audio is excellent and the video is crisp. Excellent job, if this were in a store, I would buy it.

The "white suits" show from the following night is nearly completed. About the same audio and visual quality as the first night, no surprise there I suppose.

Wow, I can't wait to see and hear it. The white suit concert is a rare item in good quality, I have never seen a decent version. Thanks again Presence for your Beales work. And what was the other concert on the tape you mentioned?

The only setlist change on the 1966 tour was Long Tall Sally instead of I'm Down for the show closer. Not a major change I'm afraid. More of a lateral move if you ask me (basically the same song).

Looking forward to seeing your work on this one Jason.

Eruption wrote:

I've heard the stories of how the audience was so loud that they couldn't hear themselves play, and the reason they ultimately stopped touring was because the audience was really listening to their playing.

That was part of it, plus they were tired of being part of the travelling madhouse. Because no one could hear them live, it was pointless to play anything seriously anymore. They had no lives on the road - it was hotels and the shows and nothing more. They got sick of the press conferences, the teeny bopper magazine crap, the interviews with the same questions over and over and over. They wanted to concentrate on the music, and that meant the studio. Little did they know that things would radically change within a year on the concert scene with big P.A. systems that were louder than the screaming fans, concert setlists began to grow in length (though The Beatles were no strangers to long performances. In the Hamburg years of 1960-62 they could play up to 7 hours over the course of a night, every night! They took uppers to stay awake), and rock music was becoming something far more serious than it was just a year or two before. They would have been amazing to see live in the early 1970's - even 1 time. That rooftop show in January 1969 was such a tiny taste of what could have been.

In the Hamburg years of 1960-62 they could play up to 7 hours over the course of a night, every night! They took uppers to stay awake), and rock music was becoming something far more serious than it was just a year or two before. They would have been amazing to see live in the early 1970's - even 1 time. That rooftop show in January 1969 was such a tiny taste of what could have been.

Well said. They had no monitors, so it must have been really difficult to play.

From 1966 the Munich footage also exists, where Paul cannot recall the first lines of I'm Down so asks John for help during the concert.

I'm still pretty interested myself. I'm not trying to rush you, or piss you off (for expecting you to do this for us, as you really don't have to) but instead just letting you know there is still interest if you wanted to do this.

Many thanks to Tibor who has helped me out by sending a copy of this show - another example of what a great community this is.
I've only had the chance to skim through the DVD but first impressions are that this is a BIG improvement over the copies of this show that I have. When the house is quiet later I'll sit and enjoy it but I have to say thanks to Pres for his trouble and expertise in getting this together.

Without wishing to hint can I say that I'm really looking forward to the next presentation if and when it arrives. If it's anything like this one it'll be a treat.

HOW CAN HE DO THIS? I mean I have never seen this concert in such top quality and I have about 15 DVDs with the Japan stuff. Do you have the japan master tapes in possession or what? Even the Beatles Anthology had lesser quality footage. I also work with videos but can not image how you are able to make them so much better than the source. THANKS A LOT!

(I wish you had the white suit version as well, but probably no one has, because that was never available in good quality. Still sits in some vault somewhere, getting worse every day. Been looking for a similar quality copy since I know my name. Apple just have no idea of what to release, how and when... )

(I wish you had the white suit version as well, but probably no one has, because that was never available in good quality. Still sits in some vault somewhere, getting worse every day. Been looking for a similar quality copy since I know my name. Apple just have no idea of what to release, how and when... )

Well, I can't speak for its quality (having not seen it), but Pres has a version of the white suits show too - not sure if we'll see it anytime soon though, as a bunch of people on here reneged on their part of the bargain, when he let out this show.

(I wish you had the white suit version as well, but probably no one has, because that was never available in good quality. Still sits in some vault somewhere, getting worse every day. Been looking for a similar quality copy since I know my name. Apple just have no idea of what to release, how and when... )

Well, I can't speak for its quality (having not seen it), but Pres has a version of the white suits show too - not sure if we'll see it anytime soon though, as a bunch of people on here reneged on their part of the bargain, when he let out this show.

Presence wrote earlier that the quality is similar to the the black suit concert.Hats off for making this concert available for us-for free.The quality of his work still amazes me, I have already watched this concert several times. The Rockshow also rocks! (sorry for the bad pun)

Responding to a request from my daughter for any Beatles footage I have I came straight back to this as example of great mid-era Beatles footage and I'm shocked and delighted again at the clarity of the footage and the richness of the colour. I'm going to take this away with me next week while I'm working away ( fittingly in Liverpool ) and see if I can watch it through a few times and leave my personal impressions of it. That's a bit daunting as I'm sure there are some REAL Beatles experts on this forum.

Actually, those same experts might be able to help. Can anyone point me towards the best currently available version of the "White suit" show? The footage I have looks suddenly looks very shoddy by comparison. It's a DVD containing 2 versions of the show in OK quality but has clips of individual songs in much improved quality. Apologies for the lack of detail here, I'm working from memory.

I am far from being an expert, although the Beatles has been an important part of my life over the last 15 years. So I have seen several versions of the 'white suit' concert, I think the BEAT edition was quite a good one. (The Beatles-In Japan, Beat DVD-2). It contains both Japanese concerts and some interesing extra material as well. The quality is far from the Presence Production, but it is highly watchable. In case of 'white suit' concert the quality is average VHS , the colours are a bit washed off. Some parts of the Anthology footage were edited into the the concert, but it is enjoyable. Could be a lot better of course, please do not expect the quality we were treated with in case of its sister -in black suit. PM me if you need a copy.

Direct copies from the laserdisc editions are also circulating, but I do not have any.

This show is a lot more famous for it's quality rather than the performance. Don't expect much more than a fair show. By 1966, they definitely lost the live spark they had. If you want them at their best, go for some of the 1963 or 1964 stuff.

This show is a lot more famous for it's quality rather than the performance. Don't expect much more than a fair show. By 1966, they definitely lost the live spark they had. If you want them at their best, go for some of the 1963 or 1964 stuff.

As a general point, absoultely agree - that said, the Munich '66 b&w footage has a real spark to it, that's generally missing from Japan. It's still not the best-played show, but they're enjoying themselves playing, besides simply making fun of the audience.

Yep, I agree these shows are not the best performances but a big part of The Beatles is that they always look totally cool so the quality of the footage is a big thing. That's shallow isn't it?

I always think that the great pity of The Beatles career is that the equipment seems rarely to have been adequate for the size of the venues they were playing given the noise from the audience - which must have made it nigh on impossible to put in a good performance. You can hear them struggling to pitch their vocals properly.If they could have toured in '68 or '69 it would have been something to see.

Wow, what a great little video! Yes, you could tell they were a bit road weary by 1966, but this is far from horrible. George is a bit off-key and uninterested during "If I Needed Someone" and strangely doesn't play the 12-string (although the six-string still sounds great), but otherwise, performance-wise, while it doesn't set the world on fire, it's still very enjoyable to watch and listen.

As for audio/video quality, this is really quite superb for 1966, and it holds up well for any era. Good camera work, and the fact that it's color video is really cool for that era. As for the sound, I really like it. Nice and rich and ambient, and all the instruments come through nice and clear most of the time, even the drums. Not some old archaic sounding tape.

What was with all of those Teisco amps lining the front of the stage? Was that the P.A. system? Did they have to use Teisco as a matter of Japanese pride? (Those were "department store" amps that you could buy at Sears in the 1960s, along with Silvertone guitars.)

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